Women and minorities sometimes pay higher interest rates for car loans, and the federal consumer agency wants auto loan companies to change their ways. But it was only a recommendation (auto dealers are powerful) and the biggest lender just said, "No, thanks."

Steel is still the number one material for making cars, but by scoring the Ford F-150 aluminum is gaining sharply. Automakers expect the aluminum share to nearly double by 2025 as fuel economy becomes critical, and that's got the steel industry fighting back with lightweight products of its own.

Cars today have data ports and event data recorders (black boxes), and they can and are being hacked in a variety of creative ways. Bad guys are rolling back odometers, stealing cars with electronic keys, erasing crash data and more. And wait, it all gets worse when every car has 4G access.

The F-150 has been the bestselling vehicle in the U.S. for 32 years, so cutting 700 pounds of dead weight out of it is a really big deal. Couple it with an EcoBoost engine, and 30 mpg could be the result.

Volt versus 'Vette: Chevrolet's Corvette Z06 will grab the headlines at Detroit's auto show next week, but did you know that Chevy actually sold more Volts in 2013? In trying to save weight and increase fuel economy, rip-roaring performance cars and plug-in hybrids actually have more in common than you'd think.